Gotham Arts Exchange and Symphony Space present Stam-Pede, an afternoon of the very best in percussive dance by eight celebrated companies. From soulful flamenco to lively Irish dance to innovative body percussion to exhilarating tap dance and mesmerizing Bharatanatyam, this impressive collection of companies offers something for everyone who loves the power and precision of percussive dance. Stam-Pede will be presented Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 3pm at Peter Norton Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street, NYC. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at www.symphonyspace.org or by phone at 212-864-5400. Appropriate for ages 5 and up.

Participating companies include: Barbara Duffy and Company; Buckets and Tap Shoes; Darrah Carr Dance; David Parker and The Bang Group; Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater; Ragamala Dance; Max Pollak’s Rumba Tap; and The Vanaver Caravan. Prepare to be amazed by their virtuosic displays of lightning fast footwork, intoxicating rhythms, and high energy musical accompaniment. Expect a rollicking good time as the audience is treated to a sensory feast for sight and sound.

Barbara Duffy and Company has performed at Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Tap City 2001-2009 (Duke Theatre, NYC, the Joyce Theater, NYC, Symphony Space, NYC), Studio 54 in a tribute to Gregory Hines, the Tanz Haus Theatre (Dusseldorf, Germany), the Jepson Theatre at the University of Richmond, Center Stage Theatre (NYC), Joe’s Pub (NYC), Tap City Downtown, Battery Park (NYC) and the Judson Memorial Church (NYC). Barbara Duffy & Company has also performed at the prestigious Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (Becket, MA).

Since 1997, Buckets and Tap Shoes – a unique company of musicians, percussionists and rhythm tap dancers – has astounded audiences, creating intense driving rhythms with 5-gallon buckets, metal cans, barrels, found objects and tap shoes. Their appearance at the 2004 Minnesota Fringe Festival earned Best of the Fringe honors and was named Best dance performance of the past 12 months in the Minneapolis City Pages “Best of 2005.” Founded by brothers Rick and Andy Ausland, Buckets and Tap Shoes was born when the Minneapolis natives teamed up with three friends for a dance competition. Since then, the brothers have collaborated with musicians and dancers, touring internationally and “transferring the innovation and spontaneity of street performing to the stage,” – Caroline Palmer, City Pages, MN.

Since 1998, Darrah Carr Dance has created a sensational blend of traditional Irish step and contemporary modern dance. The company incorporates Irish music, step dance footwork, and spatial patterns within contemporary choreography and presents a bold new twist on conventional Irish dance. Artistic Director Darrah Carr calls her style ModERIN: a playful combination of the words modern (dance) and ERIN (Ireland). Recent performance highlights include: a guest performance with The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall; a featured spot on NBC’s “The Today Show,” “The Yeats Project” at the Irish Repertory Theatre, The Duke Theater on 42nd Street, Celebrate Brooklyn, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The Yard at Martha’s Vineyard, and The Bank of Ireland Arts Center in Dublin.

David Parker and The Bang Group is a New York-based, theatrical dance troupe dedicated to the rhythmic potential of the dancing body. They are known for their smart, funny dances in which the dancers often provide their own rhythmic accompaniment through the dancing itself. The company performs regularly in New York City at Dance Theater Workshop, Danspace Project, and through DanceNow/NYC. They have toured widely throughout the United States and Europe and are especially well known for Parker’s popular neo-vaudeville version of The Nutcracker entitled Nut/Cracked and his rowdy contemporary dance version of Annie Get Your Gun entitled ShowDown.

Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater is the premier Spanish dance center in the United States in residency at Northeastern Illinois University, under the auspices of the Department of Music and the Dance program. The Ensemble Español is a world-class professional dance company under the dynamic leadership of Founder and Artistic Director, Dame Libby Komaiko and Associate Artistic Director Irma Suarez Ruiz. The EE is critically acclaimed for its exuberant, ravishing, breathtaking performances, inspiring, entertaining, engaging and educating audiences worldwide.

Ragamala Dance unfolds the beauty, elegance, poetry, and driving rhythmic complexities of Bharatanatyam, the 2,000 year-old classical dance of Southern India. With each new project, Artistic Directors Ranee & Aparna Ramaswamy push the boundaries of Bharatanatyam and convey what it means to be 21st century choreographers working within a classical, culturally-based tradition. Their work brings to audiences the infinite scope of Bharatanatyam by showcasing its complexity and range, from the grace and power of the traditional solo form to the beauty and vitality of the company's ensemble.

RumbaTap, an original concept created by Max Pollak, is a melding of Afro-Cuban music and dance, American jazz, body percussion, and tap dance. The music/dance ensemble created and named after his unique body percussion/tap concept, premiered in 1999 featuring Bobby Sanabria, Cuban Rumba legend Barbaro Ramos, and musical director Paul Carlon’s Latin jazz quartet Grupo Los Santos. Consisting of marimba, saxophone trio, vocalists and an explosive percussion section led by six body-drumming tap dancers, the multi-talented international cast of musicians and dancers evokes a powerful “Orquesta” capturing the deep grooves and charged electricity of Afro-Latin Soul. RumbaTap has toured throughout Europe, Japan, Cuba, and the United States, recently performing to a capacity crowd at New York City’s Central Park Summer Stage. Max Pollak and RumbaTap let the music play them -- hips, shoulders, arms etching pictures in sound and space -- the ancient thrill of releasing the beat of your soul by playing “the groove” on the oldest instrument known to man - the body.

The Vanaver Caravan was established in 1972 by musician/composer Bill Vanaver and dancer/choreographer Livia Drapkin Vanaver. Their love for the world's diverse cultures and commitment to their art as well as to peace among nations, continue to inspire artists, students, teachers and audiences daily. Their down-home, high-spirited performances have been presented throughout the U.S., Europe and North Africa. Appearances at major festivals include: Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the Smithsonian American Folklife Festival, the Bienale de la Danse in Lyon, France, the Rudolstadt Festival in Germany, Harbourfront in Toronto, and the Sidmouth International Festival in England.

Stam-Pede, presented by Gotham Arts Exchange, is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and through The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 through funds distributed by the National Endowment of the Arts.

Stam-Pede is co-presented by Symphony Space, and is made possible with generous support from the Arnhold Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, The Nimoy Foundation, and Jerome Robbins Foundation.

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